Explaining My Cheesesteak Pick

A little over a month ago when Philly Mag reached out to me to get my nomination for “best cheesesteak,” somewhat democratizing the vote for this fiercely debated Best of Philly category so readers could pick from one of five options offered up by “influential” locals, of which I am apparently one, I immediately feared the potential backlash.

Do you need some sort of copy with the pick or just the pick?, I responded, well aware that this, sans context and explanation, would stir the shit:

The Twitter responses have run the gamut from “I’m glad you’re speaking out” to “such a douche.”

Here’s the thing: Many locals turn their bulbous noses up at Pat’s and Geno’s, and perhaps now even Tony Luke’s, because they’re the popular tourist spots shown on TV ostensibly bastardizing whatever hyper-local version of the cheesesteak assholes deem is correct. But the sandwiches served up by these establishments are the canonical version of whatever it means to be a “Philly cheesesteak,” and they’re damn good. In my opinion, Pat’s is the best of the bunch.

Unlike, say, a roast pork sandwich, of which there are relatively few quality versions (with DiNic’s being the correct answer), basically any cheesesteak you can get in Philly is delicious. It’s really hard to screw one up so long as you use sliced rib-eye (or a finely-chopped lesser cut), fresh rolls and cheese, and don’t line stale bread with a full fucking strip of actual steak like they do in other cities when they try to replicate our genius. As such, there’s really no right answer to this question– just strong opinions. Most people don’t live within walking distance of the famous South Philly joints, and at the very least require a cab or Uber ride to get to them since parking is a complete shitshow. Therefore, basically anyone living in the greater Philly area, especially in the surrounding 10-mile radius of the city center, has a local shop that sticks the landing on their preferred version of the sandwich, thus inducing snobbery about said favorite hole-in-the wall, little-engine-that-could being better than Big Bad Pat’s.

I grew up in Springfield, and the Dairy Cottage did a fine job on a finely-chopped version with American. Would I choose it over Pat’s? No, but I’m sure some locals would. I prefer the thick, fatty cut of rib-eye slathered in Whiz on a fresh roll with the little nub chopped off and my fingers fucking frozen to the bone while sitting on a red bench as out-of-towners attempt to parallel park around me.

And that’s how we arrive at this pick. I am damn certain that any one of the other four nominations, and the countless ones that will inevitably follow in the comments and on Twitter the minute I post this, are all delicious. But if you were to ask me right now which Philly cheesesteak I could have brought to my desk, hot and fresh, in the next five minutes, I’d choose Pat’s. It’s a preference thing. Save your faux snobbery for more important fare.

Anyway, you can vote among these five choices now through January 28. The winner will be declared the Best of Philly. I don’t need to tell you want to do. Vote here.

I actually agree. At this point it’s becoming a hipster argument. Even better in the summer when you can bring it into Garage and get a beer for the price of what a sofa would be. The rest kind of jumble together: fine chopped, American like you said, then amarosso or conshohocken rolls. Pats is different for better or for worse.

Pat’s isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be, but it’s far from the best. Ishkabibbles on South Street has phenomenal cheesesteaks and they never get mentioned. Pat’s and Geno’s both use shit bottom-of-the-barrel meat. It’s like steakums. Pat’s is good for late-night drunk food if nothing else is open or close.

I lived in Fort Lauderdale for a while so I found myself often both defending the cheesesteak’s place in the culinary world, explaining to people what an actual cheesesteak is (down there, every “Philly” has BOTH mushrooms and green peppers) and giving recommendations to people who were visiting the city.
I live in Lower Bucks so for my money, when I combine quality and convenience Steve’s Steaks is atop the list. When it comes to Geno’s or Pat’s I go to Geno’s but that’s also where I had my first “authentic” cheesesteak on the way back from a Sunday afternoon Phils-Expos game at The Vet, so I think nostalgia certainly plays a role in that.
I’ve come full circle on the tourist traps, though. Not only are they open pretty much all night, I’ve never had a not-quality cheesesteak at Geno’s/Pat’s or Tony Luke’s.

I agree that you really can’t go wrong with any of the local spots, with your conditions (fresh rolls, etc.). As long as you do all of those things, you really can’t screw it up.

The only thing I wish you could have done somehow is stick your feet in the sand and say the best “cheesesteak” was the roast pork (Dinic’s or elsewhere). Hipster or not, it’s a better sandwich, and hopefully that message is getting out there. The roast pork is to cheesesteaks what podcasts are to talk radio. Once you try them, you may go back to the prior relic, which is OK, but you always prefer the new product.

Lived in the city during college (Temple) and made it a point to try as many as I could and did the Philly challenge on many a drunken 3am nights. I’m with you Kyle, I think everyone hates on shit thats popular these days to try and act cool. Pats takes the cake, whiz wit some stolen hot sauce from Geno’s. Tony Luke’s cheesesteaks are awful, I never understood the hype. Way better off getting roast pork there. Jim’s isn’t even in the conversation.

Pat’s is fine, Geno’s is fine, but there’s at least a dozen places in the city better than each of them. It’s not because I’m hipster, it’s not because I hate tourists – which I do – but they’re just not as good. They are famous because they were first or marketed well or on the same block, but that doesn’t make them good or not good. That just makes them famous. Are the for tourists 100% absolutely. Are they fine, yes they’re fine. Are they the best in the city? Not by a long shot. It’s impossible to separate best cheesesteak from cheesesteak you grew up with. I grew up with Jim’s South Street, and that’s my favorite. When asked what’s the best, that’s what I say. Others would say that is touristy and that is hipsters are against it just as much as the other ones. But I think it’s the best quality and best easing cheesesteak in the city. When I was a kid, it was provolone, now it’s whiz. Because of geography, I discovered Dalessandro’s late in life, and I think that’s second-best, so you can have an opinion formed later in life. Anywho, Pat and Geno’s are far from the best, and that’s not because tourist go there and it’s not because hipsters some of their nose at it, it’s because they’re just not as good. So stop saying people only diss Pat’s and Geno’s because we were told to or has been accustomed to, you can dish it just fine because it’s not as good. That being said, if there was one right in front of me right now, I would eat it and enjoy it. But I would also enjoy the pizza place down the street or Jim’s South Street or Dalessandro’s or John’s Roast Pork or Ishkabibbles or plenty of others that are better than Pat’s or Geno’s.